| Birth Date: | 26 September 1912 |
| Birth Place: | Concord, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1934–1937 |
| Player Team1: | Michigan |
| Player Years2: | 1937–1938 |
| Player Team2: | St. Paul Saints |
| Player Years3: | 1937–1938 |
| Player Team3: | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Player Years4: | 1938–1939 |
| Player Team4: | Detroit Holzbaugh |
| Player Years5: | 1943–1944 |
| Player Team5: | Chicago Black Hawks |
| Player Positions: | Center |
| Coach Years1: | 1939–1943 |
| Coach Team1: | Illinois |
| Coach Years2: | 1944–1957 |
| Coach Team2: | Michigan |
| Coach Years3: | 1961–1963 |
| Coach Team3: | West Germany National Team |
| Coach Years4: | 1965–1966 |
| Coach Team4: | US National Team |
| Coach Years5: | 1968–1974 |
| Coach Team5: | Air Force |
| Overall Record: | 353-158-21 |
| Tournament Record: | 16-4 |
| Championships: | 1948 NCAA National Championship 1951 NCAA National Championship 1952 NCAA National Championship 1953 MCHL Regular Season Championship 1953 NCAA National Championship 1955 NCAA National Championship 1956 WIHL Regular Season Championship 1956 NCAA National Championship |
| Awards: | 1954 Spencer Penrose Award 1974 US Hockey Hall of Fame 1980 University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor 1982 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award 1988 John MacInnes Award |
| Coaching Records: | Most NCAA ice hockey championships: (6) Most consecutive NCAA ice hockey championships: (3) Most consecutive Frozen Four appearances: (10) |
Victor Heyliger (September 26, 1912 – October 4, 2006) was an American ice hockey player and coach. He played 33 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks between 1937 and 1944 and then worked as the head coach in several places, including the University of Michigan ice hockey team from 1944 to 1957.[1]
Born in Concord, Massachusetts, he attended the Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts and as an All-American at Michigan set a school record of 116 goals. He played for the Chicago Black Hawks in 1938 and 1944,[2] bookending his tenure as coach at the University of Illinois from 1939–43,[3] posting a record of 59–29–4.[4]
Returning to Michigan as coach of the Wolverines, he led the team to six NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships in his thirteen years from 1944 to 1957: 1948 (the first NCAA title), 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956. His teams reached the Frozen Four in each of the first ten seasons it was held.
In 1954, he received the Spencer Penrose Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association as the University Division Coach of the Year. Heyliger had an overall Michigan record of 228–61–13. After coaching the U.S. national team in 1966, he coached at the United States Air Force Academy from 1966–74, where he was 85–77–3.[5]
He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in its second class of inductees in 1974. In 1988, he was awarded the John MacInnes Award by the AHCA, an honor that recognizes those individuals who have displayed an interest in amateur hockey and youth programs, as well as fostering high graduation rates among their players.
He died at his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, aged 94.[6] [7]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 1928–29 | Concord High School | HS-NH | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1929–30 | Concord High School | HS-NH | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Concord High School | HS-NH | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | Concord High School | HS-NH | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1932–33 | Groton School | HS-MA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1934–35 | University of Michigan | NCAA | — | 19 | 11 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1935–36 | University of Michigan | NCAA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1936–37 | University of Michigan | NCAA | — | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1937–38 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1937–38 | St. Paul Saints | AHA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1938–39 | Detroit Holzbaugh | MOHL | 27 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1943–44 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 26 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 33 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||